Missei, Thrush 275 



THE MISSEL-THRUSH (DURDUS 

 VISCIVOROUS. 



THIS bird is at the present time pretty generally- 

 distributed over England and the southern part 

 of Scotland, living in the latter oft-times in pairs, 

 in the richer woodland parts especially ; yet neither so 

 abundant, nor prevailing so equally and indiscriminately, 

 as the common Song-Thrush or Blackbird. I would 

 consider it more as a forest bird, but here it also frequents 

 the borders of the wood, or the orchards and gardens 

 situated in a well-clothed district. In England and 

 particularly in the northern counties, it has increased in 

 abundance ; and in its Scotch localities it has now become 

 one of frequent occurrence. Out of Europe it extends 

 to Asia, and some specimens have been obtained from 

 ;he Himalayan range, varying in no respect. They pair 

 very early, and the male begins to attempt his song often 

 ere the winter's storm has commenced. 



On more than one occasion he has been heard in full 

 song by January 5th. 



During the whole breeding season, they are bold 

 defenders of their territory, suffering no intruder to 

 approach without every attempt being made to defend 

 their nest. Magpies and carrion crows are severe assail- 

 ants, though both are often successfully engaged ; but 

 their most troublesome enemy, where there happens to 

 be a colony near, is the Jack-daw, which gains by per- 

 severance what the others fail to obtain by force. Five 

 or six of these birds have been seen to assail the parent 

 thrushes, and while some delivered the attack, the others 

 deliberately plundered the nest. During the contest, 

 the cries of the thrushes are loud and incessant, and at 

 once tell that some depredator is near. The nest is 

 placed almost always in the cleft of a tree or close to the 

 bole ; at times it is near the summit, at other times 

 placed so low that we could look into it from the ground, 

 and it is very frequently built on the fruit trees of a 



